kapre.com
A father and kid duo from Leicester scammed driver out of more than ₤ 60,000 by offering worthless car insurance coverage that left lots uninsured.
ghar.realtor
Ilyas Rauf charged unwary consumers as much as ₤ 300 for void policies, which left drivers facing possible fines and automobile seizures, while secretly sharing countless pounds with his kid Amer Ilyas.

In the scam, bogus insurance coverage intermediaries will declare they can get you vehicle or home insurance as a discount.

They might either turn over a phony policy or a genuine one, which they subsequently cancel to keep the refund for themselves.

Alternatively, they secure a genuine policy with incorrect information to bring the premium down - which would likely leave it void need to you try to make a claim.

Rauf, 51, made ₤ 61,763 from August 2016 to January 2020 by supplying created work letters to protect discounted premiums for his victims.

Between September 2019 and June 2020, he shared more than ₤ 11,000 of his profits with his 28-year-old boy, who was provided the task of hiring victims through social networks.

The dad and child were sentenced at Leicester Crown Court for fraud offenses

The National Crime Agency previously shared a series of mocked-up Instagram advertisements providing '100% legitimate insurance guaranteed to beat any rate' to reveal chauffeurs what to keep an eye out for

An examination found he utilized letters from a business called Eastern Catering to fraudulently obtain no claims discount rates.

He falsely claimed his clients had actually worked for the company for multiple years without crashes or insurance coverage claims.

It was later found that the address Eastern Catering was signed up to was the exact same used by Rauf to offer the fake policies.

Police discovered that his boy had also messaged 31 contacts about insurance on his phone in between October 2015 to March 2021, often informing clients that his dad would offer quotes for them the next day.

Amer Ilyas would then tell victims to check out the office or send out photos of bank cards for processing of payment.

Rauf was linked to 52 deceitful motor insurance coverage across 4 different insurance companies.

Ilyas Rauf's sibling Ziaed was captured on CCTV eliminating two computers from the workplace while authorities raided his nephew's home.

Four telephone call had been made between the brothers before Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to obstruct a CCTV camera and got away.

Ziaed was caught on CCTV removing two computers from the office while cops robbed his nephew's home.

Ziaed Rauf unsuccessfully attempted to block a CCTV cam and ran away

How to avoid succumbing to 'ghost brokers'

Karl Parr, from AXA UK, stated customers can protect themselves by following the below recommendations:

• Avoid buying insurance policies promoted through social media platforms and instantaneous messaging apps.

• Be mindful of insurance coverage brokers who market their services in private community forums or through advertisements in public locations like pubs, cafes or newsagents.

• Don't engage with insurance brokers who request payment in cash or through bank transfers. Reputable brokers will use payment options through an online website.

• Avoid insurance brokers who use personal email addresses or mobile phone numbers to sell policies.

• If you're stressed about a policy you've or the information do not look right, get in touch with the insurance provider directly - do not use the information provided by the broker.

• To ensure you're dealing with an authorised insurance broker, examine the Financial Conduct Authority's website or the British Insurance Brokers' Association websit.

Advertisement

Their fraud was uncovered when monetary private investigators discovered that he e claimed to have made ₤ 27,366 from 2016 to 2020 regardless of filching more than ₤ 61,000 from the insurance fraud alone.

When questioned by authorities, his son told officers he could not remember being provided money by his daddy and declared he did not know what it was for.

The three men appeared at Leicester Crown Court on Friday, June 6.

Ilyas Rauf, 51, of Normanton Road, Highfields, Leicester, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation, breaching the Financial Services and Markets Act and moving criminal residential or commercial property and was imprisoned for 21 months.

Amer Ilyas, 28, likewise of Normanton Road, pleaded guilty to cash laundering offences and was given 16 weeks jail time, suspended for 12 months. He was also purchased to complete 100 hours of overdue work.

Ziaed Rauf, 47, of Thurnview Road, Evington, Leicester, was given 18 weeks jail time, suspended for 12 months, and was bought to finish 120 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice.

The most current figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) reveal the rate of the average cars and truck insurance policy in January to March 2025 was ₤ 589, a 6 percent drop from the year before.

However, premiums stay more costly today than two years earlier, with the typical policy ₤ 478 in January to March 2023 - 23 percent less than the very first quarter of 2025.

It follows a dramatic increase in social media and email hacking reports in 2015, according to Action Fraud.

A total of 35,434 reports were made to the fraud and cyber criminal offense reporting service in 2024, compared with 22,530 in 2023.

Hacking approaches include scammers acquiring control of an account and impersonating the owner to encourage others to reveal authentication codes.

The scams, known as 'ghost broking' are frequently advertised on social networks, appealing cheap quotes for a cars and truck insurance coverage policy.

Car insurance policies have dropped over the last year, but are still remain historically high

The cars and truck insurance prices estimate that ARE too good to be true: Warning over surge in 'ghost brokers'

Many victims believe they are being messaged by a friend.

The most common intentions for social networks hacking were investment scams, ticket fraud or theft, Action Fraud said.

Fraudsters can also gain account information via phishing frauds or information breaches.

People frequently use the same password across accounts, so when one is dripped several accounts are left vulnerable.

Action Fraud has released a project, supported by Meta, to encourage individuals to take extra online defense by allowing two-step verification.

Victims typically don't understand they have been scammed till they attempt to claim on their policy or if they occur to be dropped in cops and asked to show their insurance documents.

Karl Parr, Claims Technical Director, AXA UK, informed MailOnline: 'Ghost brokers generally provide premium rates far cheaper than customers can find somewhere else.

'Remember, if something sounds too good to be real, it likely is.'

Young chauffeur Wayne Simpson bought a low-cost car insurance plan on social media before understanding it was phony after he was unable to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500.

Young driver Wayne Simpson bought a cheap vehicle insurance coverage policy on social networks before realising it was fake after he was unable to claim following a crash, landing him with a loss of ₤ 500

'We phoned Aviva and they informed me there wasn't a policy gotten in my name which the number we had actually offered them was not a number they would use,' he informed Sky News.

'That's when the dust settles, and you realise it's been a fraud.'

Mr Simpson stated the insurance coverage files looked so genuine that they managed to fool a policeman at the scene of the crash.

'She stated," Your car's not turning up as insured". Straight away I went to my glove box, pulled the insurance coverage files, showed her the files and she checked out it and said," That's absolutely fine",' he stated.